HONOLULU — August 30, 2013 — Navy training and testing could inadvertently kill hundreds of whales and dolphins and injure thousands over the next five years, mostly as a result of detonating explosives underwater, according to two environmental impact statements released by the military Friday.
The Navy said that the studies focused on waters off the East Coast, the Gulf of Mexico, Southern California and Hawaii from 2014 through 2019, the main areas that the service branch tests equipment and trains sailors.
The studies were done ahead of the Navy applying to the National Marine Fisheries Service for permits for its activities. The Navy said that if it hadn't done so and was later found to have harmed marine mammals, it would be found in violation of federal environmental law and have to stop its training and testing.
Most of the deaths would come from explosives, though some might come from testing sonar or animals being hit by ships.
Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Portland Press Herald